How does Shelley present the idea of Monsters and Monstrosity in Frankenstein?
How does Shelley present the idea of Monsters and Monstrosity in Frankenstein? Monster [mon-ster]: 1) a person who excites horror by wickedness or cruelty 2) any animal or human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape, behaviour, or character. The most common definition of a 'monster' is that of an animal or human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape, behaviour, or character, yet the term could also relate to a person who excites horror by wickedness or cruelty; these terms are both applied within the novel, 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley. Possibly the most obvious links are: the first definition to the creation, commonly perceived as the 'monster', and the second to the creator himself, Victor Frankenstein. Her strong literary background having two established authors as parents, leading her to be deeply involved in Romantic/Gothic literature, heavily influenced Shelley's works. Most notably in the novel she inherits themes from 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton. This was her inspiration to write the dark and twisted tale of 'Frankenstein'. In the novel the way monsters and monstrosity are depicted are through the descriptions of the characters. Doctor Frankenstein is described using unusual and inhuman adjectives. For example, 'My cheek and grown pale' and 'my person had become emaciated'. Pale is a word that we would refer to ill, or unwell, or even to that of
